Visa, one of the world's leading electronic payments networks, in association with the Bahrain Association of Banks [BAB], hosted the Bahrain Payment Risk Forum yesterday [April 2, 2013] at the Gulf Hotel, Bahrain. The one-day event involved senior management from risk and business functions at Visa, its clients from across the region, BAB representatives, including law enforcement officials and government regulators.

The forum discussed issues surrounding fraud trends and challenges in the payment landscape, compliance and card-not-present [CNP] issues and was a major step towards strengthening Visa’s commitment towards banks in Bahrain.

With Bahrain as an important market, Visa has been working closely with the banks and the clients to help them improve the card payment experience for their cardholders, and to support the growth of its debit offering over the next five years by enhancing the customer experience with increased card usage capabilities and options offering increased flexibility, convenience and security.

Commenting on the significance of the Forum, Majeed Hujair, General Manager – Bahrain at Visa, said: “The electronic payment network is an important part of the infrastructure of increasingly developed countries like Bahrain. Ensuring the integrity of this shared infrastructure, which includes data security, fraud prevention and compliance, is increasingly vital to achieve efficiency.

“We are privileged to have the support of the banks in this initiative, aimed at providing improved security for customers. We are committed to continue working in partnership with the financial industry in the Kingdom to create and implement such a roadmap. Visa sees itself at the forefront of payment system security and brings a global perspective to the whole process,” he added.

“Visa’s efforts have kept global fraud rates near historic lows, enabling account holders to use Visa with confidence. With technological innovations and advances in risk management, fraud rates have declined by more than two-thirds in the past two decades – to less than 6 cents for every $100. Enabling such a Forum is a testament to Visa’s ongoing commitment to enhance customer experience and security in Bahrain,” said Neil Fernandes, Visa Head of Country Risk Management for MENA, India and South Asia.

“A country should have a roadmap that covers data security, use of secure payment technologies and the latest fraud prevention tools to counter data compromise incidents. We addressed this facet in our Bahrain forum,” he added.

Visa has been at the forefront on exchanging ideas on payment system risks, fraud and security and recently held the region’s first sub-regional Risk Executive Council [REC] meeting for the Middle East and North Africa in Dubai. Participants were provided the latest information on risk trends and issues along with an update from Visa on the company’s security initiatives that are helping to minimize fraud in the payment system, including data security compliance programs and Visa Risk Management tools.